BACK TO JAZZAHEAD! TO PROMOTE THE JAZZ SCENE OF EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Emilia-Romagna Music Commission and ATER Fondazione, as part of their shared music export activities, are preparing to travel for the second consecutive year to Bremen, where from April 24 to 26, jazzahead! will take place — an unmissable event for the international jazz industry and an exceptional venue for high-quality contemporary jazz from Germany, Europe, and around the world.

As the world’s largest event where all key players in the scene come together – musicians, labels, agencies, festivals, bookers, and media – it is considered by industry professionals worldwide as the “Family Reunion of Jazz.”

In Bremen, we will be partners in the ITALY@JAZZAHEAD! Pavilion (stand 6D03), sharing the space with: Puglia Sounds, a project by the Puglia Region supporting local music professionals and artists; Fondazione Piemonte dal Vivo, a Regional Multidisciplinary Circuit promoting live performing arts across the Piemonte region; i-jazz, an association committed to promoting jazz in Italy and abroad; and Italia Jazz Club, the national association of Italian jazz clubs.

This second appearance at jazzahead! reinforces the regional music export office’s focus on jazz and its ecosystem, and continues a path of international promotion for professionals and their work.
Our region has long combined its rich cultural heritage with the creativity of one of the most free and innovative musical genres.

It is fair to say that Emilia-Romagna has been the cradle of jazz in Italy.
Bologna, now a UNESCO City of Music, became a key stop for the world’s greatest American jazz musicians after WWII – legends such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis.
Local bands emerged, jazz clubs began to open, and the Bologna Jazz Festival was born – Italy’s first international-level jazz event. This tradition, rooted in the 1950s, is still alive today.

Over the years, the calendar of festivals has grown rich and diverse, transforming cities and landscapes into vibrant stages where local and international musicians perform and connect.
Since 2000, Crossroads has become the largest jazz festival in Emilia-Romagna – a traveling event spanning over 20 locations across the region, making it one of the most significant initiatives of its kind in Europe.

From cozy venues to cutting-edge spaces, jazz clubs are places where the magic of jazz blends with the audience’s energy, creating unforgettable, often intimate, experiences.
From Piacenza Jazz Club to Rimini Jazz Club, including those in Ferrara, Bologna, Modena, Ravenna, and smaller towns like San Lazzaro di Savena, Ravaldino in Monte, and Anzola dell’Emilia.

From traditional ensembles like the ERJ Orchestra and Doctor Dixie Jazz Band, to the boldest experiments by Tower Jazz Composers Orchestra, tellKujira, and Istantanea, to the youngest rising talents such as Francesco Cavestri, HackOut! Trio, Nadt Orchestra, and Kolosso — just to name a few.

To mark our participation in jazzahead!, a new edition of the JAZZ ROADMAP is being printed – a guide that showcases the festivals celebrating this art form, the clubs that keep nightlife alive, the artists and bands carrying forward both tradition and innovation, and the record labels that distribute and promote our regional jazz heritage.

 → THE DELEGATION OF EMILIA-ROMAGNA AT JAZZAHEAD! 2025